The Seventh
by XGarrusX
Summary: Some people never get the chance to live a normal life. Some start out normal, and have it all taken from them. Daniel and Rily have to get back out. Out to the real world, but they need the help of some people like them, the Flock.
1. Starting Life

_**A/N;**_

**Hey everyone! This is my very first FanFiction, so I am trying really hard to make it work. This has been written at... *checks clock* 11:30 at night! Woo! I hope you all like it and enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! I will try to get the next chapter posted soon. Please leave comments! I would love to hear what you think.**

**DoctorEleven; Thanks for responding! I have redone the first chapter and I hope you like it! :3**

**DISCLAIMER! I do not own the amazing Maximum Ride... It belongs to Mr. James Patterson.**

**Anyways... On to the first chapter!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 1; Starting Life<strong>_

The doors burst open in the lab room, making everyone look up from the map they had been studying. A man, tall with brown hair and the basic white lab coat, strut in like he owned the place.

He looked down at the men and women sitting around the table through his glasses. He narrowed his eyes disapprovingly.

"What in _hell_ are you doing!" He yelled, furious as he snatched the map off the table.

One of the men leapt to his feet. "I-, uhh…we-" He stuttered before the man with the brown hair cut him off.

"No! Don't even start with me. You are not supposed to be studying a map, wasting time. You should be down on the first floor readying the troops for the attack!" He fumed, slapping the man across the face with the map. His usual cool vibe was thrown off by his anger.

"Yessir!" They all said together and hurried to get away from the angry scientist.

As they left the room, he walked over and closed the door behind them. He leaned back against it and sighed, rubbing his temple. He rocked off his heels back into a standing position, walked across the room to a white curtain handing from the ceiling, concealing one corner.

No one ever questioned why it was there, or even bothered to look behind it. He was the only one who knew what was behind it.

_It was the Seventh._

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><p>Sitting alone behind the curtain was a girl. She shivered slightly, freezing from sitting on the cold metal of the bottom of the cage. She had been listening to the hushed voices of the people talking in the room. She could never tell what they were saying, but it comforted her too hear other voices besides the same one she heard all the time; Her kidnapper's.<p>

She sighed internally and shifted herself until she was lying on her back, staring up at the featureless ceiling.

_Someday. Someday I'll be free. Free of all of this… _She thought.

Suddenly she heard yelling from the room that was hidden from her sight by the grayish-white curtain. She recognized one voice as the voice of her captor. She could not tell the exact words coming out of his mouth, but she was sure they were directed at the people she had heard talking earlier. Quickly, she sat up and grabbed the bars of her cage. She pressed her ear closely to try and make sense of the words she heard.

Suddenly, as if someone had hit mute, the yelling stopped and she heard a door close. The girl rolled back onto her butt, waiting for the person she knew was still out there, waiting for the coast to be clear.

The curtains were pulled quickly aside and she saw the face of the man who held her here.

"Hey Rily, you hungry?" He asked, puling a bundle out of his white lab coat.

"Heck yes!" Rily said, reaching through the bars eagerly, for she knew what was in the bundle. As the man with the glasses and brown hair reached out to give her the package, she ripped it from his hand with inhumanly speed.

Ripping into the bundle, Rily found exactly what she wanted.

Two double cheese burgers.

Sinking her teeth into the first one was like getting a small bite of heaven. She made a small noise of joy as she chewed the burger, happy as she had been in days.

"I have a special surprise for you today." The man said happily.

"Wha's it, Jeb?" Rily said though the last bite of her burger, while reaching for the second.

"I'm going to let you out into the courtyard for some exercise…" He started as Rily interrupted.

"I'm not going out on that retarded leash of yours so you can watch me while I'm out there and only let me go so far." She said, her good mood starting to have a downside.

She jammed the last bite of burger in her mouth as Jeb said the next thing.

"…Without the leash." At that, Rily spit the last bit of her burger out.

"WHAT!" She yelled, overjoyed. _This could be my chance!_ She thought happily. Leaping up, she forgot she had grown a bit and hit her head on the metal top of the cage.

"Crap…" She muttered as she stepped out of the gap in the bars Jeb had just created by opening the door. Ducking her head, she stepped out, reached above her head and stretched. Being locked in a cage all day had a whole list of downsides, stiffness being a major one.

Rily then rolled her eyes as Jeb tied her wrists together to walk her down the hall to the tall glass door that led to the outdoor courtyard. She looked around, thinking that this could possibly be the last time she saw the blank white walls with door after door of rooms that she could care less about what was behind them. All she knew was she needed to get as far from here as she could.

As they had reached the door, a familiar lady came out of a room, a boy towing on a leash behind her.

_Dr. Martinez… _Rily thought. This was the only other person she knew in the whole world, well besides the boy she had with her.

The boy was Rily's age, about 15, with short dirty blond hair that needed to be cut again, for it hung over his ears. He had a flashing smile and beautiful eyes that went from brown on the inside, near the pupil, to deep blue on the outer edges. He was taller than Rily, maybe about six foot two with a slightly muscular build, but still thin.

Rily on the other hand had straight dark blonde hair and dark brown eyes and a round face. She was five foot seven, thin, and pretty flat-chested. She was built like a runner, slim with rock hard legs. She was about a month younger than the boy.

Oh, and another major thing.

They had wings.

Rily smiled at the boy as he shrugged his shoulders and his dark brown wings ruffled a bit, smiling at Rily the whole time.

"Hey Rily!" He said cheerfully, taking a few steps toward her.

"'Sup Daniel!" Rily said, nodding to him.

"Dr. Martinez, would you join us? I was going out to give Rily some exercise. I bet Daniel could use it too. I believe they are trustworthy enough to be off the leash today." Jeb said to Dr. M.

"Sounds great!" She said, walking over to him. "Lets go guys!" She said, pushing open the glass doors to the courtyard. While both scientists had their backs turned, Daniel smiled to Rily and she nodded.

It was time.

* * *

><p>The sun felt wonderful as it's rays hit Rily and Daniel, warming them after so many days spent inside, in cages. They had to squint at first, for the sun was pretty dang bright.<p>

Rily felt the ties on her wrists loosening and she looked at Jeb and smiled. "Thanks."

"No prob." She said in return as Daniel came to stand in front of her, rubbing one of his wrists.

"You ready for some fun?" He asked, spreading his near 14 and a half foot wingspan.

"Heck to the yes!" Said Rily and her lighter brown wings with lighter streaks stretched out to their full 12 and a half foot wingspan. Daniel looked at her and winked.

"It's go time." He whispered as they both brought down their wings and took off into the air.

After about ten down strokes, they were a good fifty feet in the air. "You ready to blow this popsicle stand?" Rily asked, pulling a small, sharp rock from her pocket.

"Let's do this thing!" Daniel said as he too pulled out a sharp rock.

At the same time they dug the rocks into their skin in the back of their hand, drawing blood. Rily sucked in her breath, but cut a bit deeper. She hit metal and stopped. She threw down the rock and grabbed the small tracking devise and crushed it in her hand, letting the pieces fall back down to Earth. She saw Daniel doing the same.

They both then turned in mid air, ignoring the shouts from below and took off NorthEast, headed for the only place they knew they could go.

To the Flock.


	2. Plenty of Time

_**A/N:**_

**I'm back with the second chapter of this wonderful story! I have been working on this one for about... two and a half hours or more. I hope you enjoy it! Please leave comments and critisise!**

**DISCLAIMER! I believe that Maximum ride belongs to the wonderful James Patterson. I only own Rily, Daniel, and Mo (My Characters!)**

**Anyways...on to the Story!**

**-Rily**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Two; Plenty of Time<strong>_

Passing below them was the final grey, stone wall of a place they hated with a burning passion.

"If we never saw that place again, it would be way too soon." Daniel said, his face lighting up with a smile. Below them, people were running amuck trying to find some way to bring them back.

Rily let out a long needed laugh as she nodded in agreement. "Well, lets find a place we can crash for the night, and them we can go look for the flock."

Daniel gave a quick nod to show her he thought it was a good idea. "But remember, we don't have to find them right away, we could take a little vacation, just us, and enjoy being free. We have plenty of time."

"We could, but I think we need to get to the flock soon." She said to him.

Daniel nodded, but his heart dropped. He was hoping that she would agree to a week for just the two of them. He hardly got to see her when they lived in that dreaded lab, so he was looking forward to some time before they met the legendary Flock. He had always liked her, sense the first time they saw each other years ago.

Rily had never flown this long before, and her wing and shoulders were becoming sore. It was nearing night time now, the sun going down. She held her wings straight out, gliding downward slowly.

Daniel copied Rily, dropping toward the ground. This would be his first time too sleep anywhere outside of his cage in about…..ten years. His family was homeless and living on the street. He had been taken off the streets as a little boy and experimented on. He became a bird kid.

Rily had been in the same situation. She was living on the street with her own family, barely scraping by and two men came over to her and snatched her while no one was watching. She had been only four and a half.

They hit the ground running, totally out of breath. They had landed in an abandoned parking lot for a motel. It seemed to be empty so they walked over, letting their wings hang open, dragging on the ground.

"Home sweet abandoned building!" Rily said, slowly opening the door. She looked in, using the quickly fading light of the sun as her light. And sure enough, the only thing in the one room motel was a sleeping cat.

"Looks good to me!" She said, walking in.

"Sure…" Daniel said, following her in. He wasn't as happy to be sleeping in a random building they found.

Rily looked around and saw some old curtains and an old sac of some sort, but besides that, all there was inside was Daniel, the cat who had now woken up, and herself. She walked over to the curtains and pulled then into a corner in two separate piles.

"Here's your new bed!" She said, pointing the crumpled up wad of fabric that was probably blue at one time.

Rily then sat down on her pile and lay on her side. She looked over her shoulder and saw Daniel doing the same thing.

She put her hands under her head and closed her eyes. She was just about to fall asleep when she heard a faint rustling sound. She froze instantly, her whole body going ridged. She held her breath as the sound moved slowly toward her. Very slowly, she positioned her arm to strike when…

"MROW!" The cat meowed in her face. Rily let out a squeak and hopped back. She then looked down at the furry little black puffball. It was about an eight pound black fur ball with big round yellow eyes.

"Hey sweetie!" She said to the cat. It sat there and looked at her, tilting its head back and forth.

"Wha'sgoin'on? Said a now awakened Daniel, a few feet away from Rily and the cat.

"Look at this cute little cat!" Rily said, scooping the cat up as she sat up on her knees. "She's sooooooo adorable!" She held it on her lap, the cat purring and rubbing her head back and forth on her hand. "Let's keep her! I'll call you…" Rily thought for a moment and came up with the perfect name. "MO! I'll call you Mo, because we found you in a motel. Mo-tel! Perfect!" She hugged the very happy can to her chest, cooing to it.

"Whavr…" Said Daniel, rolling over and falling asleep again as Rily curled up on her pile of rags and fell asleep, the cat in her arms.

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><p>Rily was awaken the next morning by the warm rays of the sun coming in and hitting her face. She untangled her arms from a protesting cat and stretched. She felt great, but her stomach was growling at her.<p>

"Daniel?" She asked, looking around for him. He wasn't anywhere inside, so she got up and walked to the door. "Come on, Mo!" She called and the cat trotted over to her as she opened the door.

"SURPRISE!" An overjoyed Daniel yelled, leaping out and grabbing her in a hug.

"WHA..?" She managed to say, her sight blocked by Daniel's body.

He pulled away, grinning from ear to ear. "Look!" He said, pulling two burgers out of his pockets. "And…." He turned around, showing her he had on a fully stocked backpack. "We have enough to make it to where the Flock is hiding, I think." He said, handing Rily one of the burgers.

"Oh. Em. Gee." She said, in total shock from what he had gotten. "This is amazing! How did you do it?" She asked, biting a huge chunk of burger off.

"Two words. Wal-Mart. Wings." He said, smiling, eating his burger quickly.

Rily smiled, downing the last bite of burger as he handed her a small piece of meat and a water bottle. "The meat it for the cat." Daniel said as Rily threw it down to a meowing Mo.

"Thanks so much!" She said, totally happy for once. She took a drink of the water and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "I can't wait to get out of this place though, it waaaaaay too hot here." She said. She was wearing a pair of jean shorts that came up to her mid thighs and a short sleeved purple tee shirt. She had on white ankle socks and black tennis shoes.

"Yeah." Daniel agreed. He had on basic dark jean shorts that came down to his knees and a white Under Armor short sleeved shirt. He had black socks and black shoes. He stretched his wings out, the backpack sitting right in between them, and took off, Rily right behind him carrying Mo, who was meowing in fear as she cooed to her.

"Let's hear East, I feel that's the right way." Rily said. She had always had a good sense of direction.

"Kay." Said Daniel, flapping hard down strokes to make himself go higher and catch up with Rily.

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><p>A few hours later, they had made it into the Rocky Mountains and were soaring high above them, searching the ground for the flock's house.<p>

After about 30 minutes of fruitless search, Daniel yelled, "There! It looks like a big E!" He took off at high speeds, aiming for it.

Rily smiled and shot after him, holding Mo tightly to her chest so she didn't drop her. They neared the house and slowed down. It was about noon and she could see people moving about in the kitchen.

_Must be making lunch_. She thought. She and Daniel flapped up and down, bobbing in place as they looked at the house. "Let's hope they'll let this be our new house too." Rily said as she and Daniel flew down and landed in the front porch and folded her wings up. Rily walked right up to the big white front door and knocked on it twice.

A girl, about fourteen by the looks of her, with brown hair streaked with blonde and about Rily's height flung the door open and stared at them.

"Who are you?" She snarled, as five other people filed in behind her.


	3. Homecoming

_**A/N;**_

**Hey! I'm back to put the third chapter up for reading. Three chapters in one day, thats a great number for me! I'll try to keep updating as fast as I can, but the weekdays can be pretty crazy. Anyways, thanks to all the reviews I have!**

**DoctorEleven: I hope you like this one!**

**musicluver008: Thanks for the review Shannon! I'm glad you like it! I've been working hard. And no more waiting now, because here's the next chapter! *badass nod***

**DISCLAIMER! I don't own Maximum Ride, even though I wish I did. Mr. J.P. does. He's pretty dang epic.**

**Anyways, on to the story!**

**-Rily**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Three; Homecoming<strong>_

The six people stood slightly inside the house, staring out at the two. Rily smiled at the girl who opened the door, even though she wasn't sending the welcoming or happy vibe to her.

"Hi! I'm Rily and this is Daniel." She said, gesturing to herself and then Daniel in turn. "Who are you?" She asked the girl. She knew the flock had six members, but didn't know any of their names.

The girl standing in the door stood straight up, her arms crossed over her chest. "I'm Max. How did you get up here?" She asked, seeing that they meant no harm, although she didn't trust them.

To show, Daniel spread his wings wide, swooshing them back and forth a few times for show. "The same way you do. Who needs a ladder when you can fly?" He smiled, tucking his wings back in.

"Can we trust them Angel?" She asked the smallest girl. She had blonde hair that hung in spirals around her face. She seemed about six years old. She was wearing a long shirt with kaki pants. She had on white sandals.

"Sure! They just escaped the School, like we did four years ago. They hope they can stay here with us, join the flock!" She said, looking straight at Rily.

"Okaaaay….?" Rily said, looking at Angel strangely. "Do you think we could stay here? We are kind of homeless now." She said.

"I don't see why not." Max said. _Ange, just keep a close eye on them, if anything weird comed up, tell me right away and we kick 'em out._

_Kay. _She said back to Max, though her mind. Max then held the door open for them. "Come on in! We'll show you where you can crash."

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><p>One man in a white lab coat ran to Jeb. "Are they ready to go?" He asked him.<p>

"We still need to hear from Dr….Ah! There you are!" He said as a woman walked up to him.

"Sir, they are all ready to go." She said, looking down at her clipboard.

"How many." Jeb asked plainly.

"About ten. All the rest are here for backup if something happens on the way there. We don't think the mutants will be a problem." She said. She looked at Jeb for his response.

"Send them in." He said, turning and walking to a room down the hall.

He reached the door and just walked in, not bothering to knock. "Dr. Martinez, I think I know where the two went." He said quietly.

"Two…?" She asked, confused. She looked up from the paper she was writing on.

"Specimens seven and eight. Rily and Daniel." He said. "I believe they went looking for the flock. If they did, we might have a large problem on our hands."

"How could they possibly find them? They were so well hidden." She said.

"Seven has a great sense of direction and where she's going. I'll almost bet they did get there." Jeb said to her.

"This could be a disaster…" She said, looking down at her notes again.

"Agreed." Jeb said, leaving the room.

* * *

><p>"I think you should rest for awhile before you meet the rest of us and see the house." Said Max, leading them down a hallway toward a door. "You can have Jeb's old room. It only has one queen sized bed, but I think you can make do." She reached out and opened the door.<p>

"Is our cat fine to stay?" Asked Rily, worried for her new friend.

"Sure! I bet she'll become a part of the family soon enough. Just feel free the settle in and rest for some time. Just come out and take a right when you want to come out and meet all of us." Max said as she left and closed the door.

"Welcome home." Rily said under her breath. She looked at the bed and smiled. She would finally get to sleep comfortably.

"Do you mind sharing a bed?" Daniel asked, hoping she would be fine with it.

"Hell no!" Rily said. "A bed is a bed, shared or not. Just stay on your side!" She joked, pulling the comforter off the bed.

Daniel sighed, a dumb smile crossing his face as he watched Rily get the bed ready. He wondered if she would ever like him the way he liked her.

Rily finished pulling down the sheets and fluffing the pillows. She walked over to the only window and pulled the blinds shut. The clock on the bedside table read four o'clock. She was too tired to care anymore. She climbed into bed and pulled the covers to her chin.

Daniel hopped in bed on the other side, and pulled up the sheets. He lay down on his back and closed his eyes, listening to the slowing of Rily's breathing until it had gone steady, showing she was asleep. He flipped on his side, facing her. He slowly edged closer to her turned back until they barely touched. He then draped his arm around her waist gently, whispering goodnight.

Rily slowly awoke from a dreamless sleep. It was one of those peaceful moments when it felt like nothing could get better. She was warm, even though the sheets were down to her waist.

She laid there for a moment enjoying slowly waking up when she felt the arm around her. She looked down to see Daniel's arm around her. First, she thought it was a great thing, then she was worried. _What if he wakes up and it was an accident? What if he doesn't like me? _She had always liked him too. He was so perfect in so many ways.

Slowly, Rily slipped out of Daniel's arm without waking him up. She leapt off the bed, ripped open the blinds and yelled. "GOOD AFTERNOON DANIEL!"

"Uhh…" He said, slowly rolling over and falling off the bed. He cried out in shock and thumped on the floor. He then hopped to his feet, half awake and ready to get Rily for that.

But she was a step ahead of him. She had already reached the door and was running down the hall and taking a right like they had been told to do before. Daniel ran after her, tripping on himself.

Rily burst into the living room where the whole flock was watching TV. It seemed to be on a cooking channel.

"Hey everyone!" Rily yelled, walking in more calmly as Daniel tripped in and fell into her, knocking them both to the ground.

Daniel instantly started laughing and pulling himself up as Rily scolded him for being so clumsy.

"Seems like you two are awake." Said the boy wearing a black tee shirt and black pants. He had dark hair and skin also with his black Vans shoes.

"Thank you Captain Obvious." Said a very tall blonde haired boy on the couch. He had blue eyes that seemed to stare into space all the time. He had on a blue tee and jeans with tennis shoes to complete his look. He had very fair skin and a smile playing across his lips.

"Fang, Iggy, stop." Max said from a chair on the other side of the room. Rily slowly stood up from her place on the floor. She looked around at the six flock members sitting in various places.

"Hi!" Chirped the voice from an African American girl sitting on the other side of the couch. "I'm Nudge" She said, her black hair hanging straight down from her head. She was wearing am adorable pink dress with a black belt around her waist. She was barefoot, showing off her pink toenails.

"I'm the Gas Man! But you can call me Gazzy." Said a blonde haired, blue eyed boy from the middle of the floor. He had been sitting there, watching them from laying on his back. He now flipped to his stomach. He had on a plain blue shirt, like Iggy, and brown cargo shorts. He was wearing white ankle socks, his shoes discarded somewhere in the house.

"Nice to meet you all." Said Daniel, nodding to them each in turn.

Max stood up and walked over to them. Angel quickly hopped off the floor and jumped into Max's chair. "Iggy, Fang, and I are all fourteen. Nudge is eleven, Gazzy is eight, and Angel is six." She said, clearing that all up.

"We are both fifteen." Rily pointed out to Max.

"Sweet" She said. "Now who wants to go fly and show out guests around?" Max said and was meted by a loud cheer from her flock.

Rily smiled and said, "I take that as a yes."

Max laughed and led them over to the front door. They all walked out on the front porch and were greeted by the sight of two choppers, each with five erasers in them, flying straight toward them.

"Hope you know how to fight." Fang said as he leapt off the porch and streaked down into a valley.

"Oh yeah we do!" Daniel said, leaping off and following Fang.

Each flock member leapt off and flew after Fang until it was only Max and Rily on the porch. "Lucky you showed up. We have two pairs of extra fighting hands to help us out today." She said right before she jumped out into open air.

Rily smiled and followed her, ready for some action.


	4. Escape

_**A/N;**_

**Hey ya'll! It's Rily back again to put this next chapter up for reading! Sorry for the delay, we've had TAKS testing for the past two days...-.- But this weekend I'm hoping to be posting a chapter or two a day!**

**DISCLAIMER! James Patterson still ownes Maximum Ride...**

**Anyways...read on!**

**-Rily**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Four; Escape<strong>_

Rily unfurled her wings, catching the air under them and soaring up after Max. Ahead of them, the rest of the flock and Daniel had formed in a tight formation, slowing down so Max and Rily could catch up. She flapped hard, not wanting to be left behind.

Max caught up first, shooting to the front, while Rily took up a position next to Daniel in the back.

"You ready for this?" He asked her.

"Oh yeah. Let's give those good for nothing dog boys what's coming for 'em!" Rily yelled over the wind.

Daniel smiled. That was Rily for you. Always ready to do something crazy. A smile crossed his face for a fleeting second.

Max took a sharp turn and then a straight nose dive toward the earth, everyone quickly following her motions. Rily had never practiced the quick maneuvers in the air before, but managed to follow right along with them. Diving toward the earth, everyone tucked in their wings, heading for the ground like arrows. They slowly separated, spreading their wings again to catch the air only one hundred feet away from the ground.

Rily had never landed so fast. She started running before she hit the ground, but she still stumbled and fell. Rolling to avoid getting hurt, she popped back to her feet to see all of the Flock running toward a rocky over hang. She ran with them, her right leg hurting a bit from the impact.

When she reached it, Daniel ran up behind her. Max was already gathering up seven backpacks willed with supplies and handing them to everyone except Angel. Rily took the navy blue backpack Max handed to her and slung it on her back.

"What are we doing, Max?" Angel piped up, her large blue eyes looking up at Max.

"The Erasers found us. We have to get away as fast as we can. It's time to leave." Max said, putting her own backpack on her back. "Can you two fly for a few hours?" She said, looking at Rily and Daniel.

"Sure we can!" Said Daniel, hoping that was true.

"Okay, then follow me to the back of this cave. We'll take off from there." Fang said, taking the lead, heading for the back of the cave.

"What about our cat, Mo!" Rily distressed.

"We don't have time! We have to get away and soon!" Max said, her eyes showing a little sorrow for them.

"They have a cat!" Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy all yelled at the same time, turning and looking at Max.

"We_ have_ to go get her then! We can't leave the poor little kitty cat to fend for herself with all these Erasers roaming around! She might starve, or die of thirst, or get killed by an Eraser, or get picked up by a hawk, or-" Nudge ranted on until Gazzy cut her off with his own two cents.

"Yea! The poor little kitty cat!" He said, exaggerating with dramatic hand motions.

"Maaaaaaaaax!" Angel said, tugging on her sleeve. "Please!" She begged.

"Fine. But only Rily and I will go." She said, looking back at Rily. She then turned to Fang. "Fang, aketay emthay otay airyday eenquay nday aitway orfay suay." Max said to Fang, talking in Pig Latin. It was a helpful skill when she didn't want the kids to hear what she was saying.

"Aykay." He replied, in Pig Latin again.

Max then led Rily out the way they came in while Fang led the rest of them back into the cave farther. Max took a peek out and waved for Rily. She then ran and took of, shooting up quickly.

Rily ran forward one, two, three steps and whipped out her wings and took off. She flapped quickly up and down to catch up to Max, who was much more skilled at flying than she was.

"Follow me and keep up!" Max said, flying low, along the edge of the mountain cliffs.

"Let's just hope and pray that they don't see us yet." Rily said, looking to her right at the chopper hovering in the air. She turned away and kept flying low and fast.

"We've lost sight of the mutants." One of the Erasers said to the one who seemed to be in charge. His body was transformed into more wolf than human. He had a long muzzle and long claws on his paw-like hands. Coarse, brown hair covered his body.

The other Eraser snarled at him. "What do you mean _'we lost them'_?" Ari said. He was in charge of this mission and he was not going to let his dad down. He slapped the troop across the face.

Suddenly, Ari looked down to see two shapes flying at high speeds toward the house of the mutants. "There!" He yelled. "Follow those two!" The pilot turned the chopper and flew toward the bird kids, the other one following as two Erasers in each one pulled out guns and took aim.

Rily heard a loud rattling as the guns were shot at them. Shortly after, a burning pain shot through her already sore right leg. She sucked in her breath but kept flying. "Max! They have guns! I think I'm hit!" She yelled to her.

"We're almost there…" Max said. A few seconds later, they landed on the porch, Rily tripping and grabbing the wall before she fell. She could barely put any weight on her leg. Looking down, she saw blood quickly running down her leg from where a bullet went through the side of her leg. It wasn't life threatening, but it hurt like hell.

Max threw the door open and ran in. Rily limped in quickly and slammed the door, locking both locks. She knew that would barely slow down the Erasers, but anything was welcome now.

Max came back over holding Mo, who was all fluffed up. Her yellow eyes were large and afraid. She saw Rily and meowed loudly, struggling against Max, who let her run to Rily.

The cat leapt into Rily's lap. Rily stroked her once and stood up, holding her.

"Are you fine to fly?" Max asked her. Rily just nodded.

"Take Mo." She said, holding the black cat out to Max, who grabbed her.

"There is a back door, let's take it. It might take them a little longer to find us." Max stated, walking quickly down a long hallway, Rily limping behind her. They reached a door and Max threw it open. It led to a small grassy field. Max started to run for the cliff on the other side.

Rily sighed and threw out her wings, taking flight. She stayed about five feet above the ground, soaring toward Max, who was whipping out her wings as she jumped over the cliff with Mo.

Max flew down, Rily following her close behind. They shot along the mountains, the wind whipping their hair all around. Mo's black fur was ruffled and she was frozen in fear.

Finally, after about an hour, Max slowed down a bit. "It's time to meet up with the rest of the Flock." She said, flying next to Rily, who just nodded, her leg throbbing now that the adrenaline had worn off.

Max looked around and landed behind a building in an alley. She quickly set Mo down and pulled off her backpack, digging though it as Rily landed. Max found a white towel and pulled it out, setting it down on the ground.

Rily sat down, gritting her teeth from the pain in her leg. Max walked over to her with a white towel and kneeled by her. Then, she took the towel and started to wrap it tightly around her leg. It would help stop the bleeding and help prevent it from getting infected. After that, she grabbed Mo and put her in the backpack, zipping her in.

"Leave a breathing hole!" Rily said, standing up carefully.

Max pulled the zipper back about three inches. "There. You ready to find 'em?" Max said.

"Sure." Rily said, knowing that was their only choice.

"Cool beans." Max said, picking the backpack up and gently putting it on. Rily tucked in her wings and adjusted her shirt so they were concealed. She then limped around to the front of the building with Max.

Walking in the front, they were greeted with an enthusiastic Flock, each holding a vanilla ice cream cone from DQ.

"Hey everyone!" Max said as Fang gave her and Rily cones also.

"Thanks!" Rily and Max said as the started to lick their cones. The sweet taste of Dairy Queen ice cream was to die for. It felt great to have such a wonderful thing for once, even if it was just an ice cream cone.

The group of eight then walked out of the restaurant and began walking along the edge of the forest that started next to the Dairy Queen. It was only then that anyone noticed Rily's leg.

"Holy crap! What happened to you?" Daniel exclaimed upon seeing Rily's leg, wrapped in a towel that was now wet with blood.

"Oh, yea, that…" She said, looking down at her leg. "Well, while Max and I were flying back to get Mo, the Erasers saw us and shot at us. Luckily, it just hit the side of my leg, nothing too bad." Rily said, summing up the events that had happened sense they had been split up.

"Shi-" Fang started, but caught himself before he cussed in front of the younger Flock members. Max gave him an evil look and he shrugged an apology to her.

"Okay, I say we find a place to crash and set out for a new place to stay in the mourning!" Max said, spreading her wings and lifting off.

The Flock, Rily, and Daniel unfurled their wings and followed max into the air. Rily flew up until she was flying next to Max. The Flock and Daniel followed the two girls as they flew low, right above the tree tops. Max pointed ahead of them to a massive pine tree.

"Tuck your wings in right before you get to it and reach out and grab a branch!" Max said, tucking in her wings and diving into the tree.

Rily held her breath as she did the same. She felt small branches hitting her face as she dove into the pine tree. She reached her hands out in front of her, reaching for anything. Contacting with her hands roughly was a large branch. She clung to it and stopped her fall.

Looking down, Rily saw a larger branch and dropped down to it. She landed on her feet and couched down to absorb the impact. Smiling in silent satisfaction, she looked up to see a smiling Max.

"Nice, newbie!" Max said, swigging down to stand on Rily's branch, which was now swaying and sagging under the combined weight of the two of them.

One by one, the rest of the bird kids shot through the branches and landed or clung to a branch. Each member of the flock made their way over to Max and Rily. Daniel was the last to make it over to them, carefully making his way from one branch to the next.

"I have to say something!" Max said to them. Everyone turned at looked at her, even Iggy, with his sightless eyes.

"Well, spit it out already!" Iggy said, a sly smile covering his face.

"Shut up so we can hear what our _wonderful_ leader has to say." Fang joked along with him, picking a pine cone off the tree and chucking it at Iggy. It bounced off the back of his head.

"Hey!" Iggy yelled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Enough!" Max yelled over their bickering.

"Sorry…" The two of them said, hiding smiles and holding back laughs.

Max just shook her head and sighed. "Anyways!" She said, clapping her hands together, "I would like to say something." She looked at Rily and Daniel. "I'd like to welcome Rily and Daniel to the Flock. They are part of our family now." Max said, smiling.

Her announcement was met with high spirited cheers by the Flock. Rily felt Daniel put his arm around her shoulder and she felt her face go hot as she blushed. A broad smile covered Daniel and Rily's faces.

"I'm glad to be able to finally be somewhere I truly belong, with my kind!" Rily said, still smiling. "With my _family_."

This comment sent another round of cheers up.

"Now let's get some sleep so we can log some long hours tomorrow. I'll take first watch." Max said, pulling off her backpack and unzipping the cat. Mo leapt out and walked across the branch. She yawned and curled up. Max smiled.

"Good night everyone!" Rily said before they all found their own branch and settled in for the night.


	5. New Life, New Home, New Family

_**A/N;**_

**Hey everyone! Rily here again with the next chapter of this story! I have been working on this one for a while now. Sorry for the delay on posting this one, but I've been busy with track. We had the Meet of Champions yesterday, but I didn't get to run because our last leg of the 4x400 relay became pretty sick. I'm pissed off at the sub because she didn't want to run a lap around the track for the team. Yea, she's gonna' get it from me today, and its not going to be pretty. **

**Enough about me. Its time to reply to a reviewer!**

**XNevva WinterX; I love you Sammy! Thanks for the review and I'll keep writing. I don't think I'll add you and Shannon in, but I might! ;3 And also, I'm not mean, I just wanted you to get a look at it the same time as everyone else!**

**Anyways, on to the story!**

**-Rily**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter Five; New Life, New Home, New Family<strong>_

A warm, late spring breeze brought Rily slowly out of dreamland. She yawned and stretched her hands above her head and her legs out as far as they would go. She felt the edge of the tree branch she was laying on sway as she moved. One of her legs was hanging off the side when she came out of her stretch because her legs didn't both fit on the branch.

"Rise and shine!" Max's voice said as she gently woke Angel and Nudge up. She smiled, looking down at her little flock members.

Rily pulled herself into a sitting position, her back against the tree trunk. She could see Iggy, Fang, and Gazzy talking on the lower branches. On a branch at the same level as Rily, Daniel was just waking up. Max was now walking toward Rily as Nudge and Angel sat up, rubbing their eyes awake from sleeping.

"Hey!" Max said, giving Rily a small nod. "You ready for today? We have to find someplace to set up our home base." Max said. "Any suggestions?"

"I'd say an abandoned house or a cave or even a motel for now." Rily stated, the whole Flock starting to make their way to the girls.

Max nodded in agreement. The plan was simple and it sounded great. Suddenly her face lit up in a smile. She reached in her back pocket and pulled out a small and simple black wallet. "We need some stuff." She said "Like cloths, blankets, cloths-" She started before Nudge cut her off.

"Makeup and jewelry!" She said, clapping her hands together happily.

"And toys like stuffed animals!" Angel added in.

"A TV and video games!" Iggy and Gazzy said at the same time. They looked at each other and slapped a high five.

"Whoa! Slow down!" Max said, holding her hand out in an extra gesture. "We need the basics first. You know, food and cloths. We only have…" Max held the word out slowly, opening the wallet and counting quickly her money. "Fifteen hundred dollars."

Everyone's eyes became very big as she said that.

"Man! That's a lot of money! A whole lot!" He said excitedly.

Fang shook his head. "It seems like a lot until you start to spend it. Then it just disappears very quickly." Fang said, adding in his advice.

Rily and Daniel looked at each other and nodded. "We should find where we think we wanna' live before we start to shop." Daniel said.

"Good idea Daniel!" She said, spreading her wings slowly out, working out the kinks. "I think we should get going." With that said, she pulled her wings high above her head and flapped downward once, shooting up and out of the tree.

One by one, the other Flock members followed her. Iggy, then Gazzy, followed by Daniel, Angel and Nudge all flew out. Rily and Fang flew out last, Rily holding Mo close to her heart. They then all formed a hovering circle.

"I say we head toward Oklahoma." Fang said. "I think it would be nice."

Everyone took a quick second to weigh this decision over before nodding in agreement.

"I don't see why not." Max said. She then turned east and began to fly.

The rest of the Flock formed a loose formation behind her as they all flew out into the morning sun.

* * *

><p>"There! I think that should be it!" Rily exclaimed from next to Max. She was pointing down at an old abandoned house. It looked large from the sky, so it must be a pretty good sized house.<p>

"Nah, too close to the other homes." Max said, flying on.

Everyone sighed and followed her. They had been at this for about an hour. One of them would find a place and Max would find something wrong with it.

Rily was starting to get tired. Her wings were felling hurting and her leg ached where it had been shot. The wound was healing fast, but that didn't numb the pain.

The flock flew on in silence for about ten more minutes until Max said, "There. Away from people, not too small, not too big, empty, intact… Its perfect for the Flock!" She said, flying down toward a house in a neighborhood where all the lots around it were overgrown and run down.

The bird kids landed in the front yard of the house and looked up at it. It was two floors with plenty of windows. There was a small balcony off the second floor living room The house was painted a dull grey color with fading white trim. In all, it seemed in good enough shape, as if the owners had just moved out.

"Let's open up and check out the inside." Fang said, walking to the door and pulling it open with no problem.

Inside the house it opened to a large living room and a kitchen. There were couches and other furniture still in the rooms, including a flat screen TV. Rily walked to the hallway, still holding the now wiggling Mo, and found three doors off the side and a set of stairs at the end.

Behind each door was a bedroom with all its furniture still inside. Rily shrugged and headed for the stairs.

She walked up them and found that at the top was another living room. Only two bedrooms were up here, along with a bathroom with duel sinks, a shower, and a bathtub.

Max walked up and looked at Rily. "Seems good, but it looks like the people just left one day and never came back" She said, her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, it sure does." Rily said, looking around the room. Finally, the cat got her way and wiggled free of Rily's grasp. Mo then bounded down the stairs. Rily and Max then began to walk back down the stairs to meet up with the others.

The Flock was already lounging in the living room, some on furniture and others on the floor. Max stood at the front of the room as Rily went and sat down by Angel and Nudge on the floor.

"So, I think this is where we will stay." Max said. She was greeted by a round of cheers by the Flock. "Also, I think that Angel and Nudge should share a room, Gazzy and Iggy can share one, Rily and I will share, and Daniel and Fang will get their own upstairs." She finished.

All of the Flock just nodded, looking happy with max's decision.

"I believe that each bed has two mattresses on it, so we can each take one off and use them as temporary beds." Fang said to the Flock as he walked toward the kitchen. It was an okay sized kitchen with a bathroom off to one side. "I found some canned food in here that hasn't expired yet. None of it has to be cooked so everyone dig in. It's dinner time." He concluded.

The eight bird kids sat in the living room upstairs, eating their fill in canned fruit, raw ramen noodles, and canned soup they had found. Everyone ate happily, sharing cans so they all got some of everything.

Once they all finished, Max stood up and clapped her hands together. "Everyone put your cans on the counter so we can throw them out in the morning. Then head to bed and get ready for tomorrow!" Max said, jogging down the hall to get Rily and herself the biggest room downstairs.

Rily picked up an empty peach can off the ground along with the one in her hand. She took them to the kitchen where Fang was supervising the cleaning. She set them down and they made a small clang, hitting the white counter. She then turned and almost ran into Daniel.

"So, how you liking it here?" He asked her, a smile on his face. He had three cans balanced in one can and two in the other.

"It's a great place. It just needs some customizing." She said, returning the smile. She then ducked around him and walked across the living room. She turned down the hall as Max came out the last door on the right.

"This one is great!" She said, giving a thumbs up before walking back in the room.

Rily walked down the hall and into their room. It was pretty big and had, get this, two closets. Max had already pulled the two mattresses off the bed and found pillows and blankets for them each. Mo made a small meow and rubbed up on Rily's leg.

"Hey girl!" Rily said, reaching down and petting her small soft head. The cat then walked over and sat on the mattress with the light yellow sheets on it. Smiling, Rily walked to that mattress. "I guess Mo picked this one for us." She said, sitting down on the edge.

"Yep, and I've got this one." Max said, sitting on light blue sheets. She pulled them down and scooted under them. "G'night Rily..." She said, pulling them up to her chin and rolling onto her side.

Rily laid down on top of the sheets. Mo came over and walked onto her belly, curling into a fuzzy, purring ball. Rily put her hands under her head and closed her eyes. As she lay there, thinking about the day and the days ahead of her, a thought arose in her mind.

Daniel. He was a great guy in so many different ways. He was nice, funny, thoughtful, and not to mention cute. He knew how to cheer you up, but could take things seriously. He wasn't to stupid funny and wasn't too loud or quiet. He was a great guy.

But did he like her? This was her last thought as she fell asleep.

And little did she know that Daniel was having the same thoughts about her as he drifted asleep, a mere floor away.

* * *

><p>Rily woke in the middle of the night as Mo leapt off her stomach.<p>

"Uhh…Mo. Do you have to do that?" She whispered to her cat.

Mo looked at her and mewed softly, walking to the door. In the dark, Rily could only pick out the black cat's wide yellow eyes. Mo meowed again and seemed to look right at her.

"Fine, I'll come…" Rily said, slowly getting out of bed. She stood up shakily and followed Mo to the door. She opened it up and Mo ran out, to the foot of the stairs and looked back at Rily before running up.

Rily followed out of curiosity on where her little kitty was going in the dark hours. Using the stair rail as a support, she began to walk up the stairs.

Reaching the top step, Rily looked for Mo, her eyes squinting to try to see in the dark. She saw Mo walking to a closed wooden door. Mo started meowing loudly and pawing at the door.

"Mo!" Rily whispered, walking toward her. She had just about reached the door when it opened. In the doorway stood a perfect looking Daniel, dressed in only his shorts, showing off his muscles.

"Wha'r'ya doin' up 'er?" She asked sleepily. Reaching up with one hand, he scratched his eye and yawned. He was not fully awake yet, and just saw a girl outside his room. "Well, come on in. We don't wanna' wake everyone else up, do we?" He asked Rily.

She just looked at him, not believing she was having such luck. Scooting around Daniel and into his room, she thought through possible things she could say. She wanted to tell him she liked him, but didn't know how.

Daniel now began to wake up as he closed the door. He realized he didn't have on a shirt and that Rily, the girl he liked, was in his room. _At night._

Rily sat on the very corner of his bed, and he walked over and sat next to her. Rily shivered, suddenly very nervous and slightly chilly.

"You can lay down in my bed, under the covers if you want." Daniel said, seeing her shiver. He then realized how awkward it sounded. "Because, you know, it's uh, warmer there." He added lamely.

Rily nodded in thanks and scooted over and under them. It was much warmer here, under the covers. She pulled the blanket up to her chin, closing her eyes slightly, unable to keep them wide open, for she was totally tired.

Daniel began to feel a bit cold, so he walked around to the other side of the bed and hopped in, sliding under the blankets. He slowly scooted bit by bit closer to Rily, trying not to make it noticeable.

Rily's eyes dropped shut and she fought to stay awake, but lost and began to sleep, her breathing even.

Daniel heard her breathing slow and he slid much closer to her. He looked at her sweet, sleeping face and smiled. She looked much younger when she was asleep. He smiled to himself and gently put both his arms around her, closing the final distance and holding her close.

In her sleep, Rily moved with his slight change, pressing herself closer until they fit together like a puzzle, sleeping together.

Daniel was the first to wake up the next morning. He felt Rily against his bare chest, her sleeping body close to his. He smiled and closed his eyes, not falling asleep, but enjoying having the girl he loved with him.

Rily slowly came around and felt arms around her. It felt great to her. She then felt herself pressed against another body. She opened one eye a crack and saw Daniel's face. First, she was shocked, and then she realized what a great thing it was. She moved herself in such a way that she was even closer to him, feeling him move in response.

Daniel opened his eyes and saw Rily's opened eyes and her face. He smiled and said, "I guess you like me as much as I love you?"

"I've been waiting forever to hear you say that." She said, nuzzling her face in his neck.

He smiled and pulled one arm up to his side. He pulled slightly away from Rily, who looked at him with a sad look, wondering if the wonderful night was over.

But to her surprise, Daniel moved his hand to her chin and tilted in up slightly. He leaned in quickly before she realized what was happening and pressed his lips to hers.

Rily had never kissed anyone before, so the warmth of his soft lips against hers was a shocking, but amazing sensation. He hesitantly moved his lips, and she moved hers with his. What started as a simple kiss became a full on kiss. Rily wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist, pulling her close.

After a few more moments, they both pulled away, breathing in deeply.

They both looked at each other and smiled, knowing something wonderful had just started, started with a good first kiss for them both.

* * *

><p><strong>Sammy, Shannon, I swear if you say anything weird to me about this, I will slap you! :3<strong>


	6. Back to School

_**A/N;**_

**Hey everyone! This is my very first FanFiction, so I am trying really hard to make it work. This has been written at... *checks clock* 11:30 at night! Woo! I hope you all like it and enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! I will try to get the next chapter posted soon. Please leave comments! I would love to hear what you think.**

**DoctorEleven; Thanks for responding! I have redone the first chapter and I hope you like it! :3**

**DISCLAIMER! I do not own the amazing Maximum Ride... It belongs to Mr. James Patterson.**

**Anyways... On to the first chapter!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 1; Starting Life<strong>_

The doors burst open in the lab room, making everyone look up from the map they had been studying. A man, tall with brown hair and the basic white lab coat, strut in like he owned the place.

He looked down at the men and women sitting around the table through his glasses. He narrowed his eyes disapprovingly.

"What in _hell_ are you doing!" He yelled, furious as he snatched the map off the table.

One of the men leapt to his feet. "I-, uhh…we-" He stuttered before the man with the brown hair cut him off.

"No! Don't even start with me. You are not supposed to be studying a map, wasting time. You should be down on the first floor readying the troops for the attack!" He fumed, slapping the man across the face with the map. His usual cool vibe was thrown off by his anger.

"Yessir!" They all said together and hurried to get away from the angry scientist.

As they left the room, he walked over and closed the door behind them. He leaned back against it and sighed, rubbing his temple. He rocked off his heels back into a standing position, walked across the room to a white curtain handing from the ceiling, concealing one corner.

No one ever questioned why it was there, or even bothered to look behind it. He was the only one who knew what was behind it.

_It was the Seventh._

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><p>Sitting alone behind the curtain was a girl. She shivered slightly, freezing from sitting on the cold metal of the bottom of the cage. She had been listening to the hushed voices of the people talking in the room. She could never tell what they were saying, but it comforted her too hear other voices besides the same one she heard all the time; Her kidnapper's.<p>

She sighed internally and shifted herself until she was lying on her back, staring up at the featureless ceiling.

_Someday. Someday I'll be free. Free of all of this… _She thought.

Suddenly she heard yelling from the room that was hidden from her sight by the grayish-white curtain. She recognized one voice as the voice of her captor. She could not tell the exact words coming out of his mouth, but she was sure they were directed at the people she had heard talking earlier. Quickly, she sat up and grabbed the bars of her cage. She pressed her ear closely to try and make sense of the words she heard.

Suddenly, as if someone had hit mute, the yelling stopped and she heard a door close. The girl rolled back onto her butt, waiting for the person she knew was still out there, waiting for the coast to be clear.

The curtains were pulled quickly aside and she saw the face of the man who held her here.

"Hey Rily, you hungry?" He asked, puling a bundle out of his white lab coat.

"Heck yes!" Rily said, reaching through the bars eagerly, for she knew what was in the bundle. As the man with the glasses and brown hair reached out to give her the package, she ripped it from his hand with inhumanly speed.

Ripping into the bundle, Rily found exactly what she wanted.

Two double cheese burgers.

Sinking her teeth into the first one was like getting a small bite of heaven. She made a small noise of joy as she chewed the burger, happy as she had been in days.

"I have a special surprise for you today." The man said happily.

"Wha's it, Jeb?" Rily said though the last bite of her burger, while reaching for the second.

"I'm going to let you out into the courtyard for some exercise…" He started as Rily interrupted.

"I'm not going out on that retarded leash of yours so you can watch me while I'm out there and only let me go so far." She said, her good mood starting to have a downside.

She jammed the last bite of burger in her mouth as Jeb said the next thing.

"…Without the leash." At that, Rily spit the last bit of her burger out.

"WHAT!" She yelled, overjoyed. _This could be my chance!_ She thought happily. Leaping up, she forgot she had grown a bit and hit her head on the metal top of the cage.

"Crap…" She muttered as she stepped out of the gap in the bars Jeb had just created by opening the door. Ducking her head, she stepped out, reached above her head and stretched. Being locked in a cage all day had a whole list of downsides, stiffness being a major one.

Rily then rolled her eyes as Jeb tied her wrists together to walk her down the hall to the tall glass door that led to the outdoor courtyard. She looked around, thinking that this could possibly be the last time she saw the blank white walls with door after door of rooms that she could care less about what was behind them. All she knew was she needed to get as far from here as she could.

As they had reached the door, a familiar lady came out of a room, a boy towing on a leash behind her.

_Dr. Martinez… _Rily thought. This was the only other person she knew in the whole world, well besides the boy she had with her.

The boy was Rily's age, about 15, with short dirty blond hair that needed to be cut again, for it hung over his ears. He had a flashing smile and beautiful eyes that went from brown on the inside, near the pupil, to deep blue on the outer edges. He was taller than Rily, maybe about six foot two with a slightly muscular build, but still thin.

Rily on the other hand had straight dark blonde hair and dark brown eyes and a round face. She was five foot seven, thin, and pretty flat-chested. She was built like a runner, slim with rock hard legs. She was about a month younger than the boy.

Oh, and another major thing.

They had wings.

Rily smiled at the boy as he shrugged his shoulders and his dark brown wings ruffled a bit, smiling at Rily the whole time.

"Hey Rily!" He said cheerfully, taking a few steps toward her.

"'Sup Daniel!" Rily said, nodding to him.

"Dr. Martinez, would you join us? I was going out to give Rily some exercise. I bet Daniel could use it too. I believe they are trustworthy enough to be off the leash today." Jeb said to Dr. M.

"Sounds great!" She said, walking over to him. "Lets go guys!" She said, pushing open the glass doors to the courtyard. While both scientists had their backs turned, Daniel smiled to Rily and she nodded.

It was time.

* * *

><p>The sun felt wonderful as it's rays hit Rily and Daniel, warming them after so many days spent inside, in cages. They had to squint at first, for the sun was pretty dang bright.<p>

Rily felt the ties on her wrists loosening and she looked at Jeb and smiled. "Thanks."

"No prob." She said in return as Daniel came to stand in front of her, rubbing one of his wrists.

"You ready for some fun?" He asked, spreading his near 14 and a half foot wingspan.

"Heck to the yes!" Said Rily and her lighter brown wings with lighter streaks stretched out to their full 12 and a half foot wingspan. Daniel looked at her and winked.

"It's go time." He whispered as they both brought down their wings and took off into the air.

After about ten down strokes, they were a good fifty feet in the air. "You ready to blow this popsicle stand?" Rily asked, pulling a small, sharp rock from her pocket.

"Let's do this thing!" Daniel said as he too pulled out a sharp rock.

At the same time they dug the rocks into their skin in the back of their hand, drawing blood. Rily sucked in her breath, but cut a bit deeper. She hit metal and stopped. She threw down the rock and grabbed the small tracking devise and crushed it in her hand, letting the pieces fall back down to Earth. She saw Daniel doing the same.

They both then turned in mid air, ignoring the shouts from below and took off NorthEast, headed for the only place they knew they could go.

To the Flock.


End file.
